Write Beside Them: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in High School Writing

Write Beside Them is written with voice, humor, and humility. Penny Kittle does not tell us she has the perfect class with the perfect student. She tells us how to stick with what we believe to help our students achieve their fullest potential. I teach third grade (self-contained) and still gained so much insight into writing workshop with a constructivist approach by reading Penny's book. The dvd is phenomenal! It has her first day of class, her conferring with students, student work . . . I think writing teachers of grades 3 and up can gain from this book although it is geared to high school English teachers. Penny also refers to the work of other great writing teachers - Don Murray, Don Graves, Tom Romano, Tom Newkirk, Linda Reif, Nancy Atwell; it helps to have all these resources that readers can turn to for more information.

This book has completely pumped me up for teaching writing next year! So many books are out there with great information, but I found Penny's to be the best fit for me. I think it is because she is a lot like me in her teaching style and beliefs. I LOVED that I was able to see her in action with her students and see how her first day of the workshop goes. So many of the great books on Writing Workshops out there are geared to the elementary school level and not to middle and high school and Penny has done an amazing job at showing how her Writing Workshop works in her classroom. This book will definitely be referenced many times over the coming years. Thank you Penny for such a great resource!

I bought this book for a graduate writing class I was taking, and it has had a very positive impact on the way I teach writing to my students. Kittle offers great practical advice that you can take and apply directly to your classroom. Using ideas from the book, I was able to develop an entire creative writing curriculum, the first one ever offered at our school. The students loved it, and really enjoyed journaling, writing stories, conferencing, and putting together a portfolio at the end. One of the most helpful books I read in graduate school.

I actually bought this book because of another writing instruction book I read -- "Write Like This" by Kelly Gallagher, which was also awesome. I am only half way through this book and I am really inspired to shift my view as to my purpose as a writing teacher. Kittle reminded my why I love to write. Over the years, I have become so obsessed with teaching academia to my middle schoolers, that I seem to have lost place of why we even communicate in the first place. I understand that this book is directed at high school age kids (she mostly discusses her HS seniors), and I have junior high school kids, but everything she discusses is totally applicable to them.

I had this book assigned for a college course I was taking last semester, I am studying to be a high school English teacher, and I cannot wait to go back and re-read it over the summer before I do my student teaching! Each chapter made me think about writing completely differently, and the provided DVD showed how Kittle actually runs her class and the students' reactions. I cannot begin to explain how much this book has helped me already, and I will continue to return to its wealth of knowledge as I try to help my future students with their writing!

This is a step by step guide for how to approach writing in high school classrooms. It has very valuable information on how to make lessons about writing truly get to the students and how to help them achieve their best and become successful at this skill. Having the perspective of a teacher that works on these strategies on a daily basis makes this book a very relaible source of information. This is a great buy!

This is the best book for how to teach writing. I am using it in my Approaches to Teaching English, and the students love it. This is the first time I have ever taught a class where the students absolutely love the book. The book also allows you to go on line and watch videos of Penny teaching and having conferences. I HIGHLY recommend this book

I was excited about this book. It's expensive, but I thought it'd be worth it since it was coming from such a celebrated teacher. I thought there'd be a mix of both the emotional support needed to teach writing and the mechanics, but it's only how to be emotionally supportive. It's literally the same two or three pieces of advice over and over and over again. It's super frustrating. We get it. Write with them. A total disappointment.

Penny Kittle has written a book that is very practical and easy to read. I would buy the version with the DVD as it is nice to see her in action. I especially liked the conferencing sections. You can feel her passion for reading and her desire to help EVERY student improve. She respects each stuent's writing style, while introducing them to many different types of writing. The printout section on the DVD are excellent. I can hardly wait to use her ideas in class. We are using this book in a study group. Wrting teachers need to write in order to understand what the students may be struggling with in their writing. Love it! Every writing teacher should own this book.

“Books are often far more than just books.” ― Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist: Essays My colleagues love Kelly Gallagher, Colin Firth, Keanu Reeves, and Shakespeare. In our English department, there are pictures of these men all over the office. Teaching is a really tough job and inspiration is necessary. However, for me, I think a bit differently, I have my angels. I love Penny Kittle, Nancie Atwell, Maia Heyck-Meriln and Britney Spears. My students know I can spend months connecting the history of intellectual ideas before and after Shakespeare. BUT, to generate the courage, optimism, and grit to perform, day after day, for high school students I'm always thinking, "What would Penny Kittle do? How would she prepare teaching Romeo and Juliet for the 100th time? How do you get students to write when they've never been taught cursive writing? How do you engage students when they can call you any name in the book and there really isn't any consequences?" Penny, Nancie, Maia, and Britney = One day more.(That's from Les Miserables based on my favourite author Victor Hugo) Britney Spears rehearsed her whole life to connect to her audiences. But Britney, had mentors, she studied Janet Jackson, and Madonna. Well, teachers have Penny Kittle. I thought when I was reading Write Beside Them that it was something for me to help me with my students. Well, writing for my students is like dancing for my students; like a Britney Spears performance. Students need to see me take risks so that they will feel safe to make mistakes and take risks as well. Penny Kittle, and I guess Nancie Atwell, taught me that I could dance through writing as often as possible, just like Britney. Cool. I hope I can share that fun with my students.

If you must read only one book on teaching writing, this is the one. Written in a compelling narrative style, this account of inviting young people to write by modelling one's own passion is essential reading for any language teacher. I appreciated the author's honesty, lucidity and practical suggestions. I only wish I had read this companion to my work when it was first published.

An easy read. Great strategies. Supportive dvd. It's a book from which one can learn and implement something overnight, and then read it again, and repeat the process over and over again.

I loved this book, although I would have liked more concrete examples on how Mrs. Kittle does her planning, mini lessons and going through a text with students